Monday, 30 June 2014

Challenge Update - June 2014

I've found two little hat patterns which I'm really happy with, so I'm using them over and over again, two of each this month. The Innocent Big Knit Hat With Brim can be found on The Creations of Crazy Dazy blog and Innocent Big Knit Garlic is by Juliet Bernard and can be found on Ravelry.

I used to take lots of home video of the children when they were young, more of Daniel before Eleanor was born actually. I don't know what happened, I suppose I was just alot busier once I'd got two children, and by the time Eleanor was toddling, I was seriously ill and out of action for a year, so we don't have quite as much of Eleanor. It was all transferred on to VHS video tapes, but as they were phased out, DVD's taking their place, we got rid of the video recorder and haven't watched them for years.

I looked in to getting them transferred on to discs, but the cost was around £20 for each tape so we left it. Then, a few weeks ago, I saw an offer on Amazon Local to transfer five videos on to disc for just £19, less than we'd have paid for one doing, so we decided to go ahead. They've now been sent off and we're waiting for them returning, but first of all, Mick borrowed a video player from work so that I could go through the tapes and see which five were to be transferred.

My nice thing for June was spending a Sunday afternoon, and it took hours, watching the videos. There were also family holidays on them, and seeing my sister again after all this time was very special. It will be fifteen years on Saturday since she died and I miss her so much. There was also our wedding video, so many of the guests are no longer with us either, in fact, one of my uncles, my mum's brother, passed away this Thursday just gone. Having these videos transferred on to disc will mean that I can watch them whenever I feel the urge. It was fabulous seeing Daniel and Eleanor again as babies and toddlers, you forget so many things so it's wonderful having these memories recorded.

The non fiction book I borrowed from the library this month is The People's War by Felicity Goodall. It's quite a hefty book, but so very interesting. It contains photographs and first hand accounts from those left at home during WW11. There's so much information about those who kept the country going, digging for victory, knitting for victory, being evacuated, taking in evacuees, those who were bombed, those who were struggling on rations and much more besides.

It's a pleasant day today after a few unsettled days, though rain is forecast again for tomorrow. I really wish the weather would make up its mind, it's supposed to be summer for goodness sake. The baked goods stall at yesterday's gala raised £200 for Eleanor's drama group, and the company which one of the volunteers works for have said they'll match whatever was raised, so that's £400 to be added to the coffers. I think that's a decent result.

22 comments:

What a great amount to have raised with the bake sale! They must have worked very hard indeed for that. Sorry to hear about your uncle, it will be especially poignant to be able to see the DVD's and see your family and friends who are no longer with you and to see the children when they were small again. I hope that you enjoy watching them and that you will only recall happy memories and good times. xx

It's a great amount they raised. It costs so much to stage the shows so all funds raised are much needed. It was lovely watching the videos again after all these years, it will be nice to be able to see them whenever I want now. My uncle had been poorly for quite a while but it's still very upsetting when the time finally comes.

Your little hats are so sweet. Nice work. I don't take many videos of my kids. I do take lots of photos but for some reason the videos never work out very well so I don't try all that hard to get them. I should do it more, though. I think that book looks really interesting, I can see why you're enjoying it.

I wish I'd taken more video of my kids, there's quite a lot of Daniel to the age of about three but not much after, and only a small amount of Eleanor, but I'm glad I've got at least something. The book is very interesting.

I've been wanting to get the videos converted to disc for a long time so it's good to have finally got round to it. They were very pleased with the amount raised at the gala, they have to work hard at fundraising in order to be able to stage their productions.

Well done on keeping up with your challenges. We never had a video camera, so it must have been a journey down memory lane seeing all of them again. You can actually get equipment now to put them on DVD or memory sticks yourself. We've only got photos and some are starting to fade. The book sounds interesting. Know the sun was shining there yesterday as we talked to hubby's brother. When do you go away? Take care.

They're fun challenges so it's quite easy to keep up with them. I would have needed a video player to be able to transfer the videos myself and we got rid of ours many years ago. It was sunny yesterday and it's sunny again today, when will the weather forecasters ever get it right? We go away on Saturday.

It's so expensive to have video put on DVD here but I believe it's completely worth it, you're right, we forget so much and take so much for granted, thank you for the reminder, I will get my dvds sorted!Oh and your little hats are just gorgeous! Tammy xx

I was really pleased with the deal I found, it's made it affordable for me to get at least some of them done. It's lovely having these memories on film, we do forget so much so it's great to have these reminders.

I know what you mean Jo, I started taking videos when James was little but they just drifted off and I have hardly anything of the girls. But when I look back at the ones I do have, it always makes me smile. I think I must get videoing again. That's a great price to get them transferred to dvd, you won't regret it. :)

I'd definitely recommend keeping up with the videoing of your children, it's so lovely to look back on when they're all grown up. Even if you only manage to video them a couple of times a year, you won't regret it.

Well done on the cake sale fund raising and the offer to double it was a fantastic bonus.That was a real bargain getting the videos transferred. Having those precious memories available to watch whenever you want to see them will be lovely. I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle. I hope you are all ok.Lisa x

Having videos is so special, even more so as family pass away yet we've got all those precious memories to watch whenever we want. Thank you for your kind words about my uncle, his passing was expected as he'd been suffering from Cancer, but no matter how much you prepare yourself, it's still upsetting.

About Me

Thank you for visiting. I'm Jo, forty nine and happily married with two grown up children and a dog called Archie. Take a peek Through The Keyhole into my home on the outskirts of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Here you'll see a little of what I get up to on my crafty adventures as well as snippets of family life. I hope you enjoy reading along.